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Thousands protest violence against Iraqi Christians at Queen’s Park

The Canadian government pledged $5 million in aid for Iraqi civilians as the Islamic State continued its assault on religious minorities Sunday

People pray at Queen's Park Sunday after a silent march organized by Eastern rite churches in Canada to protest the religious persecution of Iraqi Christians by Islamic militants in Iraq. (Marta Iwanek / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

Thousands of protestors marched on Queen’s Park to call for an end to the persecution of Christians in Iraq Sunday, as leaders from Ottawa to the Vatican condemned the recent spate of violence that has plagued religious minorities in the Middle Eastern country.

Demonstrators clad in white t-shirts marched from Front and Bay Sts. to the provincial legislature, carrying placards reading “Freedom of Religion is a Human Right” and “Stop Persecuting Iraqi Christians.”

Many protestors expressed anger at ISIS, also known as Islamic State, the Muslim fundamentalist group that has led the recent wave of attacks.

“They’re trying to kill Christianity in Iraq and Syria,” said Bahaa Shaya, an Iraqi Catholic who was marching with his family. “Forcing people to leave their homes and their lands.”

On Sunday, the federal government pledged $5 million in aid for civilians in Iraq, where tens of thousands of Christians and Yazidis have been forced to flee by advancing Islamic State forces, and hundreds have been killed. The money will be used to buy hygiene kits, blankets, cooking materials and food.

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“Canada will continue working closely with our allies to determine how we can best continue to support the needs of Iraqi civilians, particularly religious minorities,” said International Development Minister Christian Paradis in a statement.

On June 10, the Islamic State captured Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, and demanded that Christians convert to Islam, pay a tax, or be executed, according to reports. Thousands have since left their homes.

Noor Sabah, a protest organizer, grew up in Mosul and took her first communion there in a 150-year-old church. She said her fellow Christians back home were given three options by the Islamic State: “to pay, to convert to Islam, or be killed by the sword.”

Now, “they’re sleeping on the streets, they don’t have any food.”

Violet Doumarr, an Egyptian Catholic attending the rally, said that she believed Islamic State fighters were “evil.”

“What God can tell them to go kill?” she asked. “Our God is a merciful God.”

During his traditional Sunday blessing, Pope Francis called on the international community to end the lawlessness in Iraq, and lamented “the thousands of people, including Christians, who have been brutally forced from their homes, children who have died from thirst during the escape and women who have been seized.”

Sunday’s protest at Queen’s Park was organized by a coalition of eastern rite churches in Canada, and featured an appearance by Cardinal Thomas Collins, archbishop of Toronto, who urged Canada’s Muslim community to denounce the violence in Iraq.

“I encourage the Muslim leaders of Canada to speak out!” Collins said to applause.

Many protestors carried signs bearing the hashtag #WeAreN, a reference to the term “Nazarene,” which Islamic State militants have used to identify Christians, sometimes painting the Arabic symbol for “N” on the doors of those they are targeting.

Fadi Jarges, 15, said his father was killed by Islamic extremists in Baghdad nearly ten years ago. Jarges, who has lived in Canada for six years, said he was attending the march “So I can tell the Muslims that it’s not right to kill Christians.”

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